Quinault Rain Forest & South Shore Trails

The Quinault Rain Forest is situated in parts of the Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest and is just one of many beautiful areas in both the park and forest that one can explore. We’ve traveled the loop around and through both parks (Hwy 101) while visiting and camping at a number of sites along the way, but it was many years ago and we decided it was time to add this stunning PNW area to our hiking list.

Once we arrived at the park, we found a place to park near the Lake Quinault Lodge and wandered the area. The day was cloudy, but it wasn’t raining and when you consider the rain forest receives something like 140 inches of rain in an average year, we were just happy to have a clear day.

We visited the beach along the lake, where canoes can be used to access the water, before moving up the hill toward the hotel. A wedding was taking place this day (it’s a popular location for celebrations) so some of the lodge wasn’t available to us, but we enjoyed what we were able to explore of this historic building, which was built in 1926.

Jozee wasn’t able to explore inside the hotel, so she was more than ready when we hit the South Shore Trails which we accessed across from the lodge. The area must be visited in person to truly feel the magic of the rain forest. We enjoyed every bit of our hike as we wandered from trail to trail.

After our walk, we ventured on and took the Quinault Loop Drive. We didn’t miss the nearby star attraction, the World’s Largest Sitka Spruce and while we’ve seen bigger trees, we couldn’t help but be impressed with its age…a mere 1,000 years!

The loop drive was a nice little adventure where we could stop to get out and explore further whenever we wished. We saw waterfalls...

Enjoyed a river walk...

Found a nice pond where Jozee could play near the river...

Spent time on a nice quiet beach along the lake...

And enjoyed the beauty of the forest along the way...

This area made for an enjoyable adventure and only validates how beautiful the PNW is, rain or shine. We look forward to exploring more of the areas around the Olympia National Forest and eventually the National Park.

Riffe Lake and Swofford Pond

Riffe Lake and Swofford Pond are both located near Mossyrock in Lewis County, a large county with many acres to explore. When we head out to the Mossyrock area, usually during blueberry season and for the Blueberry Festival, we make a point of visiting Mayfield Lake, especially one of our favorite parks we discovered last year, Ike Kinswa State Park.

But on this particular day, we decided to venture further past Mossyrock to explore parts of Riffe Lake and the surrounding area. And when I say only parts of the lake, I mean it because Riffe Lake is over 23 miles long. After the long drive and some exploring, we wanted to take a break and were thrilled to discover a quiet, cozy place to stretch our legs and eat lunch at an out-of-the-way rest stop near the Mossyrock Dam.

Jozee has a ton of energy but even she couldn’t deny the relaxing atmosphere we had all to ourselves was nice.

Once we were well rested, we explored more of the area around the lake and saw a sign for Swofford Pond. Curious, we drove the short distance to the pond, which we quickly discovered was a favorite fishing pond. There were multiple areas along the pond where someone could park, sit along the shore and throw out a line and there were also quite a few boats out on the water. Later after reading up on Swofford Pond, it appears to be home for a large variety of fish, even sturgeon, although it’s a rare find.

We drove around the lake, over a bridge and spotted access to the Swofford Pond trailhead. It was a nice, easy walk through grass, brush and trees, over creeks, through tight trails and wide open areas. It was a nice “jaunt.”

However, as we were leaving, we spotted a sign for yet another trail on the other side of the bridge on the road. This hiking-biking trail goes through Swofford Flats to Riffe Lake and it all but invited us to stay and explore. Too bad we had neared the end of the day and had to get back on the road.

Not only did we have another fun day exploring beautiful areas not too far from home, we have another new trail we can visit and explore some day.

Frye Cove County Park

Frye Cove County Park is another county park we heard about after we began exploring areas around our PNW location. The park is located off Ed Inlet, which isn’t an area we’ve explored much so it was a nice break from the usual parks around Budd Inlet.

 

  

Frye Cove is a pretty place to visit for a nature walk through beautiful forest and some playtime on the beach. Before you head out on the trails, there's a playground, picnic tables and a few shelters, so for those inclined to bring snacks or a lunch, it's also a nice area to picnic. The picnic area was a bit overgrown when we visited but the trails were nicely kept and the walk through the woods was peaceful and full of lush green vegetation.

There’s a view while you’re on the trail of the water and the mountain beyond. It’s also a nice place to just sit and enjoy the moment.

Yet another beautiful local park we can visit when we want to get away from it all, but don’t want to travel too far to get there.

Westport, Westhaven and Grayland Beach

Westport is a cute little beach town and while it’s small, you can find a number of activities to keep you busy. You can shop at a few local stores or eat lunch while enjoying views of the port and ships and sailboats nearby, walk the boardwalk at the port, walk the beach, surf or boogie board, visit the museum and lighthouse, go charter fishing or walk the paved dune trail.

On this visit, I enjoyed taking photos when the waves were willing to offer me a photo opportunity and Jozee enjoyed the beach by the bay, where she found nice sand she especially enjoyed digging in. 

When she was ready to relax, she enjoyed people watching...

Or letting the wind run through her ears.

We’ve been to Westport about every other year and a few years ago we even went charter fishing, which was a fun experience. Of course, dogs aren’t allowed and this was before we had Jozee. Given the fact that we had visited Westport often, where we always visited the port, the shops and museum and explored the beach along the bay, we were surprised during our last trip to discover we hadn’t visited all that Westport had to offer when it came to beaches. 

When we were ready to explore some more, we continued to walk west on the beach and up into and over the dunes. Once we reached the top, we were welcomed by the most spectacular sight…the ocean! 

We hadn’t realized that Westhaven State Park was located in this area or that it would give us access to the ocean and a beautiful surfers’ beach. That’s why we explore…and also why we should look at our maps more often.

The area of the beach on the ocean side was beautiful and during our visit the weather was perfect, which is a treat for the Washington coast. Jozee met a number of dog-lovers and other dogs as we trekked over the large dune to get to the beach. This visit was pre-Covid when Jozee would receive attention from a number of people we’d meet along the way who didn’t mind chatting for a few minutes.

Once we made it down to the beach, Jozee enjoyed watching all the activity between kids playing and visitors swimming or surfing.

We could have played at this beach all day, but we wanted to get a visit in at Grayland Beach before heading home because we hadn’t yet visited that beach. 

On the way there, we visited the campground at Grayland State Park and it was a nice find. We like to check out the local campgrounds near areas we enjoy visiting, in case we’d like to stay there, and this campground ticked a lot of boxes. They even had yurts to rent. It is definitely a park we wouldn’t mind camping at someday.

We arrived at Grayland Beach to discover it was much like Ocean Shores or Pacific Beach. There were a couple of kite vendors selling cute wind socks and other items and we enjoyed browsing for a bit while we decided whether or not to head home. It wasn't difficult to decide. The beautiful day was turning into a nice evening, which was the deciding factor, so we spent the rest of the day relaxing as we waited for the sun to go down.

We ended the day thankful to have enjoyed beautiful weather on our coast while we explored old haunts, as well as new.

Deschutes Falls Park

 

This gem is Thurston County’s newest park and it is absolutely beautiful. While it can be a drive considering the back roads necessary to get there, it’s still fairly local in view of its location to Yelm and is definitely worth visiting for a day trip.*

While the park is over 150 acres, it’s not necessarily a place to visit if you’re looking for miles of hiking trails. This park is more for those who enjoy river walks, waterfalls and photography. There is a long road you will walk to access the forested area and once there, you can explore to your heart’s content.

When you enter the forested area, look to the right where a quick jaunt on a short trail will bring you to a fenced area overlooking a large waterfall. It’s not the best view of a large waterfall I’ve ever seen, but it was still nice since there aren’t many large waterfalls in Thurston County. Finding an access for a better view is not an option considering the dangerous and slick rocky gorge below the fence and surrounding area. 

The best views are upriver if you're into a short river walk.

As you make your way, you can walk along the water on the rocks while scouting for crawdads. Jozee didn’t know what to think of this crawdad but she enjoyed dipping her feet in the nice cool water.

Your next option is to follow the trail to the left of the forested entrance and after a bit of a walk you’ll discover a PNW treasure you’ll have a difficult time leaving. Once you make your way down to the river, you’ll find yourself moving over natural rock monoliths. These rocks are fun to move along as you explore the river, the pools of water and small waterfalls along the way. Here the river flows through a long beautiful gorge and the whole area is just a stunning area to explore. The gorge is also where you’ll find swimmers enjoying the natural lazy river. Except for die-hard hikers, there’s something for everyone.

And while this park doesn’t offer hiking trails like other parks, be sure to keep track of your personal items as you move around the park or you will get more than your fair share of steps in. We found that out the hard way when we had to retrace our steps and walk the road and trails multiple times looking for my driver’s license after it fell out of a pocket. We were fortunate that a family spending time at the gorge happened to find it and held on to it until they spotted me and recognized it was my ID. This setback could have put a damper on our trip to the park but we were thankful it ended on a positive note!

Jozee would have loved to explore the fields outside the park, but leashes are required so this was as far as she got. Even so, she enjoyed herself and had fun hiding in the long grass as she sniffed out critters.

* As with all parks, especially during the time of Covid restrictions, please check the park website before your planned visit to verify it is open and accessible to visitors.